[Review] Bitmain Antminer S5

[OgNasty]

Bitmain Antminer S5
Disclaimer: I was given this unit in exchange for my honest review.  P2Pool was used for hashrate testing.



My S5 was delivered by UPS and required a signature.  It was held in place with foam inserts and while it did get the job done, the case on the S5 is made of a thin plastic and only covers the sides leaving some parts exposed, which worried me a bit.  However, no damage was done so I was satisfied with the packing job.



Setting up this miner was pretty easy.  While there is no url link to find the miner's ip like with Spondoolies, I did notice that the S5 accepts any pcie cable, and not just pcie cables with a centered clip on the back (the SP20 wouldn't take my 6+2pin pcie cables because the clip on the back isn't centered).  After your cables are plugged in, you power it on and hear the fan spin up and down a few times before it is ready to go.  The miner starts up fairly loud and doesn't have an adjustable fan setting, which may not make it ideal for home miners.  The interface gets the job done and once I got familiar with all the settings I was more than satisfied with it.  I wanted to get settings near what you would expect from an SP20 for this test, so I decided to test it at stock levels.  It should be noted that the S5 is easily underclocked and has the ability to beat the SP20 on efficiency with the proper settings.

Using the default frequency of 350M my S5 was able to get 1.13TH/s while using 661 watts (0.58W/GH) and exhausting 122 degree heat.  A frequency setting of 325M yielded 1.05TH/s while using 563 watts (0.53W/GH).



Overall I would say this is a great miner and definitely competitive.  It's lower price tag than the SP20 makes it a good option for large scale mining operations, the budget miner that can deal with noise, or someone who wants to tinker with it and optimize the sound/efficiency levels.  The interface gets the job done and is simple enough that I think anyone could figure it out without needing a guide.

In conclusion, the Antminer S5 is a top tier miner.  It's cheaper & cooler than it's closest counterpart (SP20) and is available to ship from stock for as low as $480 on amazon.com.  I am definitely grateful to Bitmain for the opportunity to review this product and I will keep my eye on their offerings in the future.  If you are searching for a cheap, competitive mining product with lots of customization opportunities, you can't go wrong with the S5 from Bitmain.  I even purchased an additional unit for my mining operation at retail price and was happy to do so.

[OgNasty]

Bitmain Antminer S5
Using the default frequency of 350M my S5 was able to get 1.13TH/s while using 661 watts (0.58W/GH) and exhausting 122 degree heat.  A frequency setting of 325M yielded 1.05TH/s while using 563 watts (0.53W/GH).




Spondoolies SP20
Using a voltage setting of 0.62 my SP20 was able to get 1.2TH/s while using 640 watts (0.53W/GH) and exhausting 124 degree heat.




BFL Monarch
Using stock settings 2 Monarchs were able to get 1.2TH/s while using 1040 watts (0.84W/GH) and exhausting 152 degree heat.




Asicminer Prisma
Using stock settings my Prisma operates at 1.2TH/s while using 1240 watts (1W/GH) and exhausting 150 degree heat.

[sikke]

Antminer design wins. Adding extra fan is possible.

[noddy2000]

Why bother advertising the scum bags that are bfl! I suppose it shows how wank their product is and it costs twice the price haha.

I don't trust nasty as far as I could spit, he sticks up for bfl far too much.

On subject, who'd have thought bitmaine and spondoodles would be the only decent companies in the industry. Knc suck and have issues(Neptune & titan cubes failing all over the place) cointerra are shocking and on life support from day 1 (now emersed in mineral oil to cool them), bfl were scam from day 1, luckily only got swindled for a single which will be a nice auniment and reminder in future.

Bitcoin industry looks real sick to me. Everyone's centralising it and we arnt changing how we work but trying change it to how we work, by centralised institutions so a few control it all. Yup, its real sick!

[OgNasty]

Why bother advertising the scum bags that are bfl! I suppose it shows how wank their product is and it costs twice the price haha.

I don't trust nasty as far as I could spit, he sticks up for bfl far too much.

I'm not sticking up for BFL in any way.  I have Monarchs, so I posted the data in comparison.  The data shows that Monarchs are inefficient and overpriced compared to their competitors.  BFL owes me a ton of money and screwed me royally.  Don't confuse me owning a Monarch and posting the data for people to be able to access from a trusted 3rd party with me sticking up for BFL.  I will never send BFL or any organization that conspires with them a single cent of mine for as long as I live.  I advise that everyone else do the same.  How is that sticking up for BFL?

Bitmain on the other hand has proven once again they are able to produce and ship a top tier product without pre-orders.  Kudos to them.

[Blazed]

Nice reviews...really cool to see a Monarch in the mix since they are so rare and all. I have to agree the only good companies left are Bitmain and SP-Tech. I am glad both compnies hand out review units now...see what us small scale guys think of them. I think I need to order up some S5's soon to join the club 

[tzortz]

Cool review thanks.

What psu did you use?

[OgNasty]

Cool review thanks.

What psu did you use?

I used this PSU: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ILWYT6

I may try underclocking and using a more efficient PSU to see if I can get it below 0.5W/GH when time permits.

[tzortz]

Thanks.

Do you have any underclocking instructions?

Similar to S1-3?

[OgNasty]

Thanks.

Do you have any underclocking instructions?

Similar to S1-3?

You login and go to 'Miner Configuration' -> 'Advanced Settings' then turn down the frequency.  It's that simple. 

[MyRig]

Thank you!!

By the way, lucky you with BFL Gear!!!  Great to see those pictures! 

(Want one of them...  yes i know it is more pricy when it comes to $/GH but it would be a cool item to have for a display in the future)

Why bother advertising the scum bags that are bfl! I suppose it shows how wank their product is and it costs twice the price haha.

I don't trust nasty as far as I could spit, he sticks up for bfl far too much.

I'm not sticking up for BFL in any way.  I have Monarchs, so I posted the data in comparison.  The data shows that Monarchs are inefficient and overpriced compared to their competitors.  BFL owes me a ton of money and screwed me royally.  Don't confuse me owning a Monarch and posting the data for people to be able to access from a trusted 3rd party with me sticking up for BFL.  I will never send BFL or any organization that conspires with them a single cent of mine for as long as I live.  I advise that everyone else do the same.  How is that sticking up for BFL?

Bitmain on the other hand has proven once again they are able to produce and ship a top tier product without pre-orders.  Kudos to them.

[tzortz]

Thanks.

Do you have any underclocking instructions?

Similar to S1-3?

You login and go to 'Miner Configuration' -> 'Advanced Settings' then turn down the frequency.  It's that simple. 

Waw, this is cool news.

No more SSH.

Yes, sir!

[OgNasty]

By the way, lucky you with BFL Gear!!!  Great to see those pictures! 

(Want one of them...  yes i know it is more pricy when it comes to $/GH but it would be a cool item to have for a display in the future)

I'm not sure "lucky" is the term I would use, but I do indeed have Monarchs.  PM sent.

[kano]

Hmm, I wonder if the 660W is due to the 110V or a lower quality PSU?
Here in Aus (240V), my S5 is doing a little over 1.1THs on my pool ( https://www.kano.is/ ) but at the wall it's only 600W
(default settings) but I'm using a Seasonic 1200W Platinum

[Zich]

Hmm, I wonder if the 660W is due to the 110V or a lower quality PSU?
Here in Aus (240V), my S5 is doing a little over 1.1THs on my pool ( https://www.kano.is/ ) but at the wall it's only 600W
(default settings) but I'm using a Seasonic 1200W Platinum

OgNasty using Rosewill ATX 12V 750-Watt 80 PLUS BRONZE. The efficiency on 75% load is 85%.

[aurel57]

Hmm, I wonder if the 660W is due to the 110V or a lower quality PSU?
Here in Aus (240V), my S5 is doing a little over 1.1THs on my pool ( https://www.kano.is/ ) but at the wall it's only 600W
(default settings) but I'm using a Seasonic 1200W Platinum

Its got to be the PSU as I am running  mine at Freq 375 getting  1.23+GH and reading 635W at the wall with a RM1000 Corsair 115V.

Also the packing material changed on my batch 2 from foam packing to bubble wrap.

[OgNasty]

Hmm, I wonder if the 660W is due to the 110V or a lower quality PSU?
Here in Aus (240V), my S5 is doing a little over 1.1THs on my pool ( https://www.kano.is/ ) but at the wall it's only 600W
(default settings) but I'm using a Seasonic 1200W Platinum

I'll switch it out for another PSU and retest later today.

RETEST:
I went ahead and hooked it up to a EVGA SuperNOVA 1300G2 80Plus Gold Power Supply.  I also downclocked it with the 325M frequency.  The results were...

1.05TH/s at 563 watts or 0.53W/GH

[aurel57]

Hmm, I wonder if the 660W is due to the 110V or a lower quality PSU?
Here in Aus (240V), my S5 is doing a little over 1.1THs on my pool ( https://www.kano.is/ ) but at the wall it's only 600W
(default settings) but I'm using a Seasonic 1200W Platinum

Its got to be the PSU as I am running  mine at Freq 375 getting  1.23+GH and reading 635W at the wall with a RM1000 Corsair 115V.

Also the packing material changed on my batch 2 from foam packing to bubble wrap.

After 28 hours one board dropped and started showing x's, after a reboot that didn't help I  reset the freq back to default of 350 and its seems to be doing fine now. Getting 1155GH with temps at 48/47 fan 3480 and reading 592 watts at the wall. Not sure why that board dropped off at the 375 setting as the temps seemed fine at 50/49?

[OgNasty]

Hmm, I wonder if the 660W is due to the 110V or a lower quality PSU?
Here in Aus (240V), my S5 is doing a little over 1.1THs on my pool ( https://www.kano.is/ ) but at the wall it's only 600W
(default settings) but I'm using a Seasonic 1200W Platinum

Its got to be the PSU as I am running  mine at Freq 375 getting  1.23+GH and reading 635W at the wall with a RM1000 Corsair 115V.

Also the packing material changed on my batch 2 from foam packing to bubble wrap.

After 28 hours one board dropped and started showing x's, after a reboot that didn't help I  reset the freq back to default of 350 and its seems to be doing fine now. Getting 1155GH with temps at 48/47 fan 3480 and reading 592 watts at the wall. Not sure why that board dropped off at the 375 setting as the temps seemed fine at 50/49?

I've noticed similar behavior in my units (except they fall to 50% hashrate after about 2 days).  I suggested that Bitmain add an auto-restart if hashrate falls below x setting to the firmware, but I'm sure we'll see lots of stability improvements with the next firmware update.

[aurel57]

Hmm, I wonder if the 660W is due to the 110V or a lower quality PSU?
Here in Aus (240V), my S5 is doing a little over 1.1THs on my pool ( https://www.kano.is/ ) but at the wall it's only 600W
(default settings) but I'm using a Seasonic 1200W Platinum

Its got to be the PSU as I am running  mine at Freq 375 getting  1.23+GH and reading 635W at the wall with a RM1000 Corsair 115V.

Also the packing material changed on my batch 2 from foam packing to bubble wrap.

After 28 hours one board dropped and started showing x's, after a reboot that didn't help I  reset the freq back to default of 350 and its seems to be doing fine now. Getting 1155GH with temps at 48/47 fan 3480 and reading 592 watts at the wall. Not sure why that board dropped off at the 375 setting as the temps seemed fine at 50/49?

I've noticed similar behavior in my units (except they fall to 50% hashrate after about 2 days).  I suggested that Bitmain add an auto-restart if hashrate falls below x setting to the firmware, but I'm sure we'll see lots of stability improvements with the next firmware update.

I just flashed mine with the new firmware to see if that helps. I also set my freq back up to 375 but what I did notice at the default and higher freq, my miner has loss some hash compared to the original firmware. At the 375 it was getting 1235 GH before and now only 1210 GH but the temp is down a point or 2 also.